melayu makan - too many good things at once

1. beef rendang

A. Blend / pound (tombok in Malay, methinks) ginger, galangal, dried chilli, chilli padi and lemongrass into a paste and set aside. Do the same, separately, with garlic and shallots. [There is no need to clean the blender between the two blends -- such is the beauty of this dish -- the tastes are not distinct, but complementary.]

B. Meanwhile, add hot water into the pre-prepared Rendang Powder, available at your friendly neighbourhood wet market stall, until it becomes a cake. I get mine from Bedok North Hawker Centre, at a stall called P.G. Raju's Curry Powder. If unavailable in Middletown, CT, blend: coriander, fennel, cumin, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, chilli into a powder.

C. Heat oil in pot, and fry the garlic / shallot mixture until fragrance emits. Throw in ginger-galangal-chilli-lemongrass mixture and stir fry. Add more oil, allow the mixture to heat up for a bit, then add Rendang Powder Cake. Fry some more. Add beef cubes into the mixture, and keep frying. After about 5 minutes, add some water and allow the mixture to simmer for at least 45 minutes.

D. After 45 minutes, add coconut milk and allow the mixture to simmer down into a viscuous gravy. Add toasted peanut bits to enhance texture. Stir well.

E. Beam. Your rendang is done.

2. sambal stingray
normally cooked over a charcoal grill, you're now given only an oven. bo pian (nothing much you can do in hokkien). so how? (also a slang for, so what are you going to do now?)
heat oven to 450F
oil pan/tray
put stingray/skate on tray
put aunty sophia's sambal belachan (homemade chilli paste with dried shrimp. sorry, her trade secret, so i am not allowed to tell) on stingray
bake for about 20 mins (test for doneness by inserting knife into thickest part and holding it against your wrist. if warm-hot, it's almost done)
blast it quickly using the broil function to char some areas.

3. haebee hiam (literally, dried shrimp spicy)
get your dried shrimp from your local fast talking and brash asian grocery store
rinse it, then bake it to your housemate's chagrin to drive out the moisture. or, you could cook it over medium heat in a pan (low heat if you're not really attending to it), outside of the house. it smells like cat food, but it will get better, as a lot of people say that about things in life.
while the shrimp is drying, grind lemongrass, ginger, galangal (blue ginger), chilli powder, salt and some tumeric to a fine paste. add water if necessary to help in the blending. fry this paste with a tbsp of oil till it's moist (drier than when it started out).
add the paste to the shrimp, add about 4-5 tbsps of oil, and fry over med-high heat. the heat will caramelise the shrimp and the sugars, leaving you with a sweet fragrance that often comes when you barbeque prawns with their shells on.
toss for a good 20 minutes till the shrimp is pretty dry, does not clump together and is a nice brown.
let it cool and munch with beer.


4. Pseudo-achar

This dish is idiot proof, and almost as simple as Nigella recipes. Cube cucumbers, pineapple, onions. Add salt, white vinegar, lime juice and sugar. Allow to sit for about an hour. Serve with toasted peanut flakes sprinkled on top.

5. laksa
blend lemongrass, dried chilli, galangal (blue ginger), ginger, shallots, onion and tumeric.
fry paste the same way you do with the haebee hiam and until the raw smell of fresh spices becomes toasty
add chicken stock, laksa leaves and a kaffir lime leaf
once it reduces, turn heat down so that the stock is simmering and add coconut milk
serve with overboiled thin spagetthi (cooked past the al dente stage), sliced boiled chicken, sliced boiled eggs and bean sprouts.

Recipes by Mr Swee and Mr Pang.